Marriage moments

Sometimes your husband's company is acquired and he's tasked with selling a few new products. Sometimes those products require hands-on training and continued practice. Sometimes your husband may ask to practice on you. And you may, despite the many medical procedures you've been subjected to, be a little squeamish. And pregnant. And therefore unable to drink. To say that the casting and sawing depicted below is something I will never forget (in a VERY BAD way) is an understatement. Our marriage is strong, but not "come at you with a saw" strong. From now on he'll be practicing on those with a little more perseverance (and trust) than me!

Letter to Charlotte: Month thirty-six

Dear Charlotte,

You’re three! I have no idea how this happened or when you decided to grow-up, but it’s happening right before our eyes. I look at you most days and see a baby and a big girl finding her independence all in one sassy girl. You and your sister are alike, but oh-so-different in so many ways, and you have a personality all your own. I love watching you grow, often cringe at the things you do and say, and am cherishing the snuggles and hugs and cuddles because I know you’ll be a tall, bony girl like your sister before I know it.

Because I couldn’t get the idea of our family not being complete out of my head, your Dad and I decided to see what God and nature had in store, and *surprise*, they had another baby for our family in store. So, at the end of summer you’ll be a middle child. After the shock wore off and excitement settled in, one of the first thoughts was about how you would handle not being the resident “baby” anymore. After all, you basically had to be pried out of my body (hellllooooo 30 hour labor) and were literally attached to me for the first 2 ½ years of your life. But I’m starting to see an independence about you that I didn’t see even 6 months ago, and you take cues from your sister more than ever; and since she’s thrilled about this new addition, you are too. We know the baby is a girl and have asked your opinion on names; so far your front-runners are “Charlotte” and “Elsa.” Just like with you and your sister, we won’t share any name ideas before the baby is born, but I’m 99% sure you’ll be disappointed that your choices didn’t make the cut : )

I’m going to cut to the chase and throw it out that you’re still not potty trained. It’s not for lack of trying, I can assure you. We’ve talked it up, you have big girl underwear, candy and toys for treats were made available, and two separate times we’ve gone cold turkey and sat you on the potty every 15-20 minutes. And both times you couldn’t care less and either hold “it” in so long we start to get worried, or you “go” about 2 seconds after you get up. You’re not ready, it’s as simple as that; so both times we’ve stopped and decided to try again later. That said, you’ve started to have some serious #2s, so “later” will be happening as soon as your Dad and I get back from a quick trip to Florida next month. Worst case, you’ll go to middle school in a pull-up, but hopefully we can get you trained before college…

You’re an OK eater … when we can actually get you to stay at the table. You ditched a high chair / booster chair loooong ago, so you have free reign at the table and often choose to come and go as you please. Your M.O. that started a few months ago was that you’d snub most of dinner, then demand basically a full meal before bed, so we’ve started covering your plate and that’s the food you eat when said demands kick in. And it works! You generally go back to the table, granted 2 hours later, and finish your dinner. Whatever works, right? You insist I sit next to you at all means, and usually that means literally *right* next to you, leaving your Dad and Anna at the other end of the table. You love all the typical foods of a three year old palate: chicken nuggets, PBJ, pizza, fruit, snacks, and very few veggies, although you love frozen peas and surprised us a few weeks ago by eating more than a serving of green beans. If you’ve had a good behaviour day and eaten most of your planned meals, you get a treat before bed. Soooooo, pretty much that means you get a treat about twice a week.

You’re a big talker and have a lot of ideas. You’re not afraid to let us know what you’re really thinking and often times run around yelling at us like a crazy person. On the flip side, you really don’t like it if we raise our voice at you or if your Dad and I start to have a heated conversation. I tend to be your interpreter when we can’t understand you … sometimes because you’re just talking jibberish, but mostly because you’re hard to understand when you’re barking demands at us or whine-talking.

You absolutely adore your big sister and watching you two interact and play together warms my heart on a daily basis. You love to play Paw Patrol, Lion Guard, and PJ masks, all of which involve crawling around and making odd noises and roars at one another. You’re a girly girl and love all things pink, purple and yellow (your three favorite colors), but because your sister has passed her princess phase, you aren’t nearly as into it as she was. Speaking of love affairs, you love your Daddy too. You two have special games you play and cues you take from each other and you love nothing more than to have him chase you around the house, ending in a big tickle fest. You’ve recently started belly’ing up to him at the end of the day and you two literally snuggle into the love seat together and catch up on the latest Paw Patrol.

Your teachers love you and have actually asked to keep you in your current classroom past the traditional transition point … partly because you aren’t yet potty trained, but mostly because you are such a sweet girl. They’ve only seen snippets of your sassy attitude, so the old adage remains true that kids are generally perfect angels for anyone that’s not a parent. You’re a pretty good sleeper, but definitely take some time to wind down and will play with the MANY stuffed animals in your crib for a good hour (or longer) many nights after we put you down. You’ve tried the “I’m hungry and thirsty” bits and that worked for a little while … now I just promise to come back with a snack and tell you to close your eyes until then … and *bam* you generally fall asleep. You are an early bird, up between 6 and 6:30am most days. Luckily you’re usually happy to play with your stuffed animal brigade until I can get you up. Occasionally you’ll get feisty and start yelling for us to come get you with sassy sayings that include “Hello, I’m awake, can you hear me?” and “Is anybody out there going to come and get me up?” On the weekends you prefer to ease into your day with a snack and a TV show and on the weekdays you beat your slow poke sister by leaps and bounds when it comes to getting ready (although you have the unfair parental help advantage).

Charlotte Rose, you’ve been such a blessing to our family; you’ve challenged me in ways I never knew were possible, you give the best and biggest hugs and kisses, you are a snuggle-bug to beat all snuggle bugs. You’re as sassy as you are sweet and although I know you’re now a full-on threenager, I can’t wait to see how you grow and change this year!

Love,
Mom

Don't just take my word for it (Miss C, February 2016)

2/12/16: What an awesome day we had! Our Valentine's Day party was so much fun. Charlotte enjoyed passing out her valentines to each of the classmates. Great job!

Can we please discuss this face?!?! Hahahahahaha!

2/17/16: Charlotte did a fantastic job of counting our coins and had a great time making food for her “lunch”!

2/18/16: Charlotte had so much fun creating at the Art Easel today with paper and an ink pad.

2/19/16: What an awesome day we had. Since it was so nice out today, we thought we would play 'I Spy' outside. That was so much fun!

2/23/16: Charlotte loved talking on the phone today. We asked her who it was on the other end and she just smiled saying "mom and dad." She also loved the mail she received. She was super excited about all of her cards!

2/29/16: Charlotte did an awesome job using the stencil at the Art Easel today. Great job!

New addition

Our family is growing by one heart this year; baby GIRL Kelly will arrive at the end of August! If you've spent any time with me over the last couple of years you know that I've gone back and forth on a third ; at the end of each pregnancy and while I'm in the throws of nursing, you're destined to hear that "I'm DONE!" Then I tend to waiver. Then back again. Rinse and repeat.

Mike's always "liked the idea" of a third, but also waffled. So, a few months ago we decided to see what nature and God had in store and were happy either way; if our family was complete with two happy and healthy girls we'd be happy; if our family was meant to have three children we'd be happy. God and nature quickly decided a third was in our destiny and because I'm considered Advanced Maternal Age (over 35) and because my eggs have seen their fair share of unnatural drugs, we opted in for the tests that look for any major issues, and also reveal the gender through bloodwork. And it revealed a HEALTHY baby girl!

The first trimester has been about what you'd expect, but traditional morning sickness was replaced by a sinus and upper respiratory infection that won't go away, and fatigue. We're still in shock, not sure if we're totally equipped to parent three kiddos; but that's how we felt each time prior and we seem to be making it through OK : ) Bring on the PINK!! We can't wait to meet our little lady in a few months!

Snow bunny

This little girl loved seeing the snow fall and even wanted to eat her breakfast (with her friend Figaro, of course) one morning before school. Love her little heart (and I say this when it's not 6:30 in the morning, that definitely wasn't my tune at the time).

Of course playing outside later in the day is much more fun! 

NOT feeling the groove

Someone was NOT in the mood to sing and dance along with the rest of the family in the car ... I feel like I'll be seeing this look a lot in the coming years ... 

And when no one in your family will listen because they're too busy taking picture of your tantrum, maybe it's just best to take a nap : )  

Don't just take my word for it (Miss C, January 2016)

1/7/16: Charlotte loves learning American Sign Language. We learned several new animal signs; cow, snake and raccoon.

1/8/16: Charlotte loved finger painting today. She also had so much fun playing with the hula hoops while in the gym. 

1/11/16: Charlotte had a blast making a cookie today with paper and chocolate bits. Yum! Charlotte even snuck and ate a few chocolate chips when she thought I wasn't looking. 

1/12/16: Today we talked about the beautiful snow outside, and also reviewed the sign for snow in American Sign Language. Charlotte also enjoyed painting with the alphabet cookie cutters.

1/15/16: Charlotte loved coloring today. She also had fun dancing with her classmates.

1/19/16: Charlotte had so much playing with the trains today. She was very proud of the tract she made. Great job!

1/21/16: Charlotte loved creating at the Art Easel today. She colored a very beautiful picture. Great job!

1/22/16: Charlotte had a so much fun playing with the farm animals. They would fall off the cliff (table), and her giraffe would come to the rescue!

1/26/16: Charlotte had a blast in the Kitchen Center. She loved all the food she got to cook. Too cute!

1/27/16: Charlotte is great at multi tasking. We caught her with a mouth full of food While she made a phone call. She is a hoot!

Don't just take my word for it (Miss C, December 2015)

12/3/15: Learning about snakes was so much fun today. Charlotte slithered around the floor with her classmates like snakes do. It was also a lot of fun painting with one. 

12/4/15: What a great day! Charlotte had so much fun coloring with markers on the Art Easel. 

12/11/15: We had so much fun practicing our Christmas songs for the holiday program and working on our top secret Christmas gift for our mommies and daddies.

12/23/15: Our Christmas party was so much fun today. Charlotte loved making a snowman ornament.

Word(less) Wednesday

Yes, Charlotte is in a doll stroller with two stuffed animals. The usual ...

Sous chef

Thanksgiving took a turn for the infirmary this year as my Mom came down with a yucky cold / sinus infection / upper respiratory funk. Of course she wouldn't let on that she was sick until I realized she wasn't huffing and puffing because she was nearing her retirement years. Once we realized she was under the weather I took over cooking duties and we had a great meal; and luckily her sous chef was able to help her make the pumpkin pie before she felt too horrible.

Leftovers are the best!



Unrelated ... cooking at my Mom's made me realize that she has some of the oldest and most inefficient cooking tools known to man; her Christmas list was created as I peeled potatoes and used the worst knives (aka death traps) ever to attempt to chop.